My heart dances frantically in my chest; a bird attempting to break free of its cage. There’s the sound of sliding steel as Teddy draws his sword. Taking a step back, I bump into one of the treasure chests and yelp in shock as more coins spill to the foor.

The voice laughs again, and I manage to make out the shape of a hand in the darkness, stroking the cat’s fur. “Now what’s this we have on my ship? A couple of stowaways?”

Forcing myself to swallow my fear, I try to talk in a strong voice, but when I do speak, it comes out as a quiet whisper. “I-I’m Princess Elizabeth, and your cat seems to have stolen something of mine.”

“Princess Elizabeth?” the voice responds, only mildly curious. It speaks towards Teddy next. “Then I’m guessing you’re her royal guard.”

“You are mistaken,” Teddy growls in a threatening rumble. “I am her brother, Prince Theodore. Now give my sister back her stuffed dragon and we will be on our way.”

Instead of being intimidated by Teddy’s aggressive attitude, the voice just laughs. “A princess and a prince! I think it’s our lucky day.”

I feel the ship shift beneath my feet and I look around in alarm. “I would like to take my dragon and go now please,” I say quietly.

“You heard her,” Teddy adds more forcefully. “Do it or we will throw you in the dungeons.”

“That would be a trick,” the voice coos softly. “Put your sword away boy. It’s not play time.”

Teddy takes a step closer. “Give me the dragon. Now.”

“I said...” the voice begins in a threatening tone. There’s a streak in the air of something moving very fast, and Teddy’s sword is thrown to the other side of the room, clattering down behind a treasure chest. “...it’s not play time.”

“Lizzie, get over here now,” Teddy orders with wide eyes. “We’re leaving.”

My heart is still beating like crazy, but I stay where I am. “I’m not leaving without Solar!”

With a sinister chuckle the voice mocks, “You heard the girl. She’s not leaving.”

Grabbing my hand, Teddy drags me out of the room. “Teddy! I’m not leaving without Solar!”

“Yes we are,” my brother snaps as he drags me towards the stairs. “Something’s not right about this ship, and we need to get off it before it’s too late.”

I don’t reply, but look back over my shoulder at the shadows of the room where Solar is. I feel my eyes begin to burn with tears. I don’t want to lose my friend, but Teddy is right. There is defnitely something dangerously wrong about this ship.

We take the stairs two at a time, bursting through the door into the brightness of the day. At frst I’m dazzled by the light, but I freeze when I realize we’re surrounded by tough looking sailors. They all hold swords and smile dangerously .

Teddy shoves me behind him. “Let us off the ship,” he growls, causing the crew to laugh.

“You gonna make us?” one of the sailors sneers. “You and what army? What weapon for that matter!”

I hear footsteps coming from behind me. I jump, running behind Teddy to peer around him at the door we just came through. Teddy turns as well, standing protectively between me and the door.

The person who belongs to the mysterious voice in the dark steps out into the light, and I gasp, realizing many things. The frst is that it’s obviously a woman. The second, she must be the captain of the ship, considering the size of her hat. And third... she isn’t human.

Her two large ears are pointed and furry. Her face has a cat-like nose, and she has different coloured eyes. One eye is blue while the other is a bright green. Her entire body seems to be covered in a fne fur, ranging many colours, from white to orange and black. On the tips of her fngers I see small slits I guess are hiding claws, and the palms of her hands have tough pads on them. Her long tail weaves behind her, the fur on it fowing through the air with ease. Her tail looks soft and fuffy, but the dark glint in her eyes and the smirk on her face tell me that she’s not to be messed with.

“Let us go!” Teddy demands. “There will be serious punishments for you and everyone on board if you keep us here!”

Reaching to stroke the black cat on her shoulder, who I guess must be called Ice, she replies in a silky voice, “Go ahead. Leave. I will warn you that there are sharks in the water though, so you’d better swim fast.”

Turning to peer past the crew, I realize with dread, “Teddy! The ship has left port!” Castle Town and my safe life are already far behind us, fading more every second.

Teddy’s head whips around in alarm. Turning back to face the captain, he roars, “Turn this ship around now!”

“I’m afraid, Teddy-bear,” she snarls mockingly. “we can’t do that. You see, as pirates, we despise following orders, especially orders that come from snotty royalty.”

“P-pirates?” I stutter in a scared whisper. “Oh no...” Still hiding behind my brother, I whimper, “Are you kidnapping us?”

“You catch on quick, Elizabeth was it?” the captain laughs. “Royalty of any kind will fetch a nice price sold to the right buyer.” Turning her head to look at her cat, she purrs, “When I sent Ice ashore, I told her to bring back a princess. I wasn’t expecting her to bring a prince as well. It’s my lucky day, isn’t it?”

“I’m guessing you do this often,” Teddy growls, glaring at our captor with poison in his eyes.

Strutting around us in a circle, she examines us with a freezing gaze. “Yes, indeed. But you are the fnest specimens we’ve collected thus far. Usually we pick up frail little whelps that die of sea sickness, or princesses so ugly that no one wants to buy them. But you two are strong and healthy.” Her mismatched eyes burn into mine and I have to look away. “The only fault in her is her timidness. But I suppose that’s not too bad.”

Teddy takes a step towards the Captain, and instantly one of the pirates jumps forward and restrains him. “Don’t talk about us as if we’re a common commodity to be traded!” Teddy roars in her face. I’ve never seen my brother so mad. If he had been roaring in anyone else’s face, they would have run for the hills. But not the Captain. She simply rolls her eyes in a bored way.

“Muzzle yourself, you stupid mutt,” she drawls, turning away. “You’ve got the worst dog breath I’ve smelled in my entire life.”

I can tell that Teddy is still fuming, but he can’t break free of the pirate’s grip and he’s powerless without his sword, so he just grinds his teeth and glares at her as if his gaze alone would be enough to kill her.

Turning back to face us, she announces, “You have two options. You can either cooperate and swab the deck, or you can take twenty lashes a day and spend the rest of your time locked up in the brig.” She examines her fngers with a disinterested expression as she fnishes, “The choice is yours.”

Teddy doesn’t reply, but before he can burst out with some stupid remark and get us both thrown in the brig, I step forward. “Where’s the mop and bucket?” I ask nervously.

“Smart girl,” the Captain purrs with a wicked grin.

“Lizzie!” Teddy exclaims as he turns on me. “You can’t be serious? We’re royalty! We shouldn’t let them force us to stoop to their level!”

“I don’t know about you,” I begin quietly. “But royalty or not, I still feel pain, and I don’t want to be whipped twenty times a day. I don’t want to see you whipped either. So please... just do it?”

Teddy stares into my eyes, uncertain. Finally, he lowers his head and sighs, “Alright, Lizzie. I’ll do it.”

“Too bad,” the Captain sighs. “I was looking forward to whipping you. Oh well. There still may be other opportunities.” Looking at the pirate holding Teddy, the Captain snaps in a commanding voice, “Cut-throat!”

Letting go of Teddy to stand at attention, Cut-throat replies, “Aye, aye, Captain Felix sir!”

“Go fetch these two dogs what they’ll need to swab the deck. And make it snappy!” At the Captain’s demand, the pirate hurries off through the door that leads back below the ship. Looking around the rest of her rag-tag crew, Captain Felix orders, “The rest of you swine get to your stations. We must be as good as invisible by the time they realize that their precious prince and princess are missing.”

Folding his arms across his chest defantly, Teddy growls, “They will fnd us. And when they do, you’ll be sorry you ever weighed anchor in Castle Town.”

Captain Felix steps forward and pats his cheek, mock sympathy in her face. “Oh you poor boy. You’ll never see your family again. Nobody fnds my ship unless I want it to be found.” As she turns away from him, Ice sticks out her tongue, mocking us.

I feel hatred burn in my veins, and suddenly I realize why dogs like to chase cats.

Captain Felix makes her way to the wheel of the ship, charting a course. I’m glaring at her and her pet so intensely that I jump when a bucket and a mop are dropped down in front of Teddy and me. Looking over at Cut-throat, I finch as he tosses me some wash rags. “You do the mopping,” he growls, shoving his fnger in Teddy’s face. “And you do the scrubbing,” he smirks at me.

Before I can dip my rags in the bucket, he hands me a knife. I take it and look at him warily, unsure of what to expect. “Cut your dress shorter, or you’ll regret it.”

For a moment, I just stare at the dagger, and I notice that Teddy is staring at it with hungry eyes. But then Cut- throat clears his throat and when I look at him, I realize that his belt is flled with knives and daggers. I can’t help but shiver as I think I know how he got his name.

Teddy sees his weapons too, and with a scowl, picks up the mop and dips it in the bucket angrily.

As I stare at the knife and wonder where to begin, Cut-throat growls with a smile, “Make it nice and short Elizabeth. You don’t want it getting caught and tangled in the ropes.”

I look up at him sharply with wide eyes. I’ve never worn a short dress in my life! It’s very unbecoming of a princess to show too much of her body. When Cut-throat doesn’t break my gaze, I know he’s serious. Gripping the knife tightly I finch as I rip the frst piece of fabric. My beautiful dress, ruined.... But I suppose this is still better than the lashes and the brig.

Cut-throat watches as I destroy my dress, telling me when I’m making it too long and forcing me to cut it ever shorter. By the time I’m done, the dress is far above my knees and showing way too much skin. I feel my face burn with a blush as the other pirates come closer and stare at me with hungry eyes, laughing at each other.

But then the Captain’s voice rings through the air, and for once, I’m glad to hear it. “Back to work you scurvy dogs! You know the rules. No one but the buyer is allowed to touch the princess!”

Looking up at Captain Felix sharply, I ask warily, “What do you mean by that?”

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Turning away from the wheel, the Captain leans over the railing to look down at me. “Why do you think I usually steal only princesses?”

I shake my head, not sure what she means.

“It’s because there’s a lot more dirty old men in the world than dirty old women.” With a smirk, she continues, “Girls sell for more than boys. It’s a bit of a strike on my conscience, but I do my part by making sure the princesses get to the market untouched. After that, what happens to them is beyond my control.”

Teddy throws his mop to the ground, spinning to glare at the Captain. “You disgusting, fea-bitten, mange bag! If anything happens to my sister, I will spread your guts from Lilliath to Cardonia!”

In a streak of movement, Captain Felix throws a knife down towards Teddy, the blade whizzing past his ear and cutting off a few pieces of hair. Before Teddy can turn and grab the knife that’s now stuck in the wood, Cut-throat snatches it up and puts it in his belt. “Watch it, Teddy- bear,” the Captain hisses dangerously. “You’re nothing but pocket change to me.” Straightening up and returning to the wheel, she snaps, “Now hurry up! I want to see my refection in the foor within the hour or you’ll be sorry.”

Still scowling, but slightly more wary now, my brother reaches down to pick up his mop. I hurry and dip my rags into the bucket, and start scrubbing the railing of the ship. I can’t help it as a few silent tears slide down my face. When I woke up this morning, my life was perfect. And now... It’s hard to believe that only a few hours ago, battle training was my biggest worry.

By the end of the hour, my hands are raw and bloody, and every joint in my arms ache. But the hard scrubbing paid off. The railing is shinning like new, and the foor glistens. Teddy and I slump down together on the foor as the Captain leaves her lofty perch to examine our work. She saunters about the ship, criticizing everything, but then she fnally sniffs, “On the whole, it’s terrible. But it will have to do. You two are on kitchen duty. You are to go to the kitchens and help Mr. Salt prepare dinner. If I hear that you aren’t doing everything he tells you, I’ll be forced to punish you. Now go.”

I feel so tired that I could sleep for a week, but I force myself to jump to my feet, afraid that if I don’t move fast enough, Captain Felix with pull out a whip and hit me.

“Where are the kitchens, Captain Felix sir?” I ask warily as Teddy gets to his feet more slowly.

Pointing with her fnger to a door that’s opposite the one we had frst gone through, she orders, “Through that door and beneath the galley. Get your scrawny haunches over there before I decide to lash you anyhow.”

“Aye, aye sir!” I exclaim, grabbing Teddy’s hand and dragging him along behind me.

Once we’re through the door, Teddy pulls his hand away. “How can you act like that Lizzie?” he exclaims, throwing his hands in the air, exasperated. “I can hardly keep myself from spitting in that stupid feline’s face!”

“Well, I just don’t want to get hurt, that’s all,” I murmur meekly, looking down at the foor instead of at him.

Shaking his head, he sighs, “I just don’t know how you manage it. You’re the dog out of the two of us. I should think you would be barely stopping yourself from lunging at her throat.”

“First of all Teddy, I’m a wolf, not a dog. And secondly, I don’t have anything against cats on the whole. I just hate that woman and her stupid pet. Now let’s get to the kitchen before—” the door opening behind us cuts me off and I jump back, afraid that it’s the Captain, but I relax when I realize that it’s just Ice.

Teddy smiles when he realizes that the black cat is alone. “Perfect. Now I can teach that stupid cat some manners!”

Before I can stop him, Teddy lunges for Ice, trying to grab her around the throat. But she leaps up and lands on his head, clawing at his face. Snarling with anger, Teddy tries to grab Ice and tear her off, but she jumps and slashes at his hands before he can grab her. Teddy’s focusing so much on grabbing the cat, that he doesn’t see the stairs behind him. I try to call a warning, but it’s too late. Ice jumps off his head as he goes tumbling down the stairs.

I wince as I hear him crash into the kitchen. Ice glares at me and I quickly make my way down the stairs before she throws me after Teddy.

“How dare you treat my kitchen like such rubbish?” the cook, Mr. Salt, hollers. “Get to your feet boy and clean up that mess this instant!”

Growling to himself and rubbing his forehead where Ice had scratched him, Teddy hauls himself to his feet and begins putting all the pots and pans back in place.

Turning to glare at me, Mr. Salt throws a wooden spoon at me. Reacting fast, I manage to catch it before it smacks into my face. “Start stirring that soup, and make it snappy!” the cook growls, pointing at a large pot full of boiling soup.

“Aye, aye, sir,” I say quietly, rushing over to the pot. As I begin to stir, Ice leaps onto the counter beside me, and stares at me through unwavering blue eyes. I shiver at her gaze, and even when I look away I can still feel it burning into my skin. After a while, I turn to her and growl quietly, “What is it? Can’t you go watch Teddy for a while?”

But Ice remains as still as ever, staring at me without even blinking. With a shiver, I wonder if she can somehow tell that I’m not human.

By the time Teddy and I fnish cooking and cleaning the dishes, we’re both exhausted. But our rumbling bellies keep us from falling asleep.

I approach Mr. Salt warily, unsure of how he’ll react to my question. “Mr. Salt sir?” I ask in a shaky voice. “Could my brother and I have something to eat?”

For a moment, the gruff cook doesn’t respond. He just looks Teddy and I up and down with an appraising eye. Finally he growls, “I suppose. You have worked hard enough I guess.” Taking a ladle, he spoons some soup into two bowls and hands them to us. “Here, eat up. Then you’d best report to the Captain.”

I don’t wait for a second invitation and neither does Teddy. I gulp down the soup in large swigs, ignoring the pain as it burns my mouth and throat slightly. The soup seems to be gone all too soon, but I don’t dare ask for more. I feel lucky enough to be given what I was. Licking my lips, I realize that it was the most tasteless soup I’d ever eaten, but my hungry belly tells me it was the best food I’d ever had.

Teddy and I quickly wash our dirty dishes, then make our way back up the stairs to fnd the Captain. As I walk outside onto the deck of the ship I’m surprised to fnd that the sun has set and the clear night sky is dotted with countless stars. I freeze for a moment, staring up at the little specks of brilliance. I’ve never seen so many stars before! Castle Town is always lit up at night, and the light seems to block out the night sky. Admiring the beauty of the softly lit night, I can’t help but yawn.

“Come on, Lizzie,” Teddy murmurs quietly beside me. “Let’s go fnd out where we can sleep.”

Placing an arm around my shoulders, he leads me over to the wheel where Captain Felix is studying the night sky.

“We’re done our chores,” Teddy declares roughly, but when I elbow him frantically in the side, he adds, “Captain Felix sir.” I can still hear the poison in his voice, but I want to stay on the best terms with the Captain as we can. I don’t want to be punished because we disrespect her.

Captain Felix looks slowly away from the sky, studying us carefully. “I suppose you louts will be wanting to sleep then.” Her voice is quiet and cold, and I can’t help but shiver. As she fnishes speaking, Ice leaps up to her shoulder, glaring hatred at me again.

“Yes sir,” I murmur quietly, unable to take my eyes off of Ice.

“Fine,” the Captain says. “Go downstairs to the store room. There’s another stairway there that leads to the bunkroom. Ask Diggs and Riggs to take you to your sleeping place.”

“Er, who are Diggs and Riggs, Captain Felix sir?” I ask nervously. I don’t like standing here in the cold gazes of the Captain and her cat, but I also have no clue who she’s talking about.

She freezes me in her mismatched stare, and with a shiver, I take a step closer to my brother. Finally she murmurs, “They’re mostly identical twins. Riggs has a hook for a hand. You can’t miss them.”

I can’t help but shiver as I think of a sinister fgure with a sharp hook where his hand should be. “Aye, aye, Captain Felix sir.”

I start towards the door, but stop when I realize that Teddy isn’t following me. He’s still standing there staring at the Captain. Both Captain Felix and Ice have turned their backs and are staring up at the sky, but the Captain’s tail twitches methodically back and forth. Teddy seems to be watching the movement of her tail almost as if he’s hypnotized. His gaze is deep and thoughtful, but I can’t tell what’s going through his mind.

“Teddy?” I murmur quietly, not wanting to alert the Captain. “Are you coming?”

He jerks his head as if he’s just been snapped out of a trance. Without one more look at the Captain, he leads me away through the door. “What was that all about?” I ask him as we start down the stairs to the storage room.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Teddy replies gruffy, his voice strangely guarded.

I stare at him in shock. It almost sounds like he’s trying to keep some sort of secret from me. Teddy and I never kept secrets from each other. We always told each other exactly what was on our minds. We were closer than two peas in a pod. And yet here he was... practically lying to my face.

Giving my head a sharp shake, I chase away my nagging thoughts. Of course Teddy wouldn’t keep secrets from me. It must just be my tired mind playing tricks on me.

The bunkroom is a fair sized room flled with hammocks hanging from the ceiling. Most of the hammocks are occupied by burly sleeping pirates, but near where we are standing by the stairs, two men are playing cards. I realize they must be Diggs and Riggs, because other than the fact that one of them has a hook where his hand should be, they look identical.

Teddy and I walk over to them, and I say quietly, “Excuse me, but are you Diggs and Riggs?”

“The two and only,” the one with the hook replies, looking up from his game. Getting to his feet, he thrusts his hook out as if preparing for a handshake. “Riggs, at your service.”

The other brother gets to his feet as well and bows. “Diggs, also at your service.”

As Riggs still has his hook outstretched, I take it gingerly and shake it. “Captain Felix said you two could show us where we can sleep.”

“Certainly we can,” Diggs responds, and I can’t help but smile. These two brothers don’t seem scary at all. In fact, they’re the friendliest faces I’ve seen all day, despite the scars that mark them.

“Why don’t you two sit down and join us at a little game of cards frst?” Riggs offers, gesturing at the little table.

Before I can reply, Teddy growls, “We’re tired and all we want to do is sleep.”

“Fine, fne!” Both brothers exclaim together. “No need to get your trousers in a knot.”

Riggs leads the way through the sleeping bodies to the back of the room. This part is flled with cages, and I shiver as I guess this is the brig. “You’re not going to lock us up are you?” I ask nervously.

“Sorry, Elizabeth,” Riggs replies sorrowfully while Diggs continues, “Captain’s orders.”

“Whatever,” Teddy growls, glaring at the two good- natured pirates. “Come on Lizzie, let’s get some sleep.” He marches grumpily into the cell, fopping down on a hammock.

Riggs leans closer to me and puts his hook to his mouth as if he were sharing a secret. “Not so friendly, ain’t he?”

“He’s not usually this bad,” I say apologetically.

“Can’t say I blame ‘im,” Diggs huffs. “Been a strange day for the both of ye.”

Hesitantly, I step into the cage. I can’t help but feel extremely nervous being locked up. I’ve never been locked up before in my life. I’ve always had the best of everything, and been free to go where I wished. Even on the full moon when I change into a wolf I don’t get locked up. I have enough sense to stay in the castle, but everyone in the castle knows about our secret anyway.

I jump as the door clangs shut loudly behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I watch as Diggs locks the door, his ring of keys jingling. When he’s done, both brothers wave.

“Goodnight!” they say in unison, before they turn and make their way back to their card game.

As I lie down in the hammock that’s hanging on the opposite side of the cage that Teddy’s on, I say quietly, “They weren’t too bad.”

Teddy grunts. “Whatever. They’re all just pirates to me. I bet they’re just playing nice to get something out of us. Well it won’t work with me.”

“They didn’t seem like that to me. I’m pretty sure they’re just nice pirates,” I reply, although I never would have thought that I would ever call a pirate nice. But the twin brothers had been good-natured and funny. If I wasn’t so depressed and scared because I’m locked up on a pirate ship, I may have even called them my friends.

But then I close my eyes with a sigh. Maybe Teddy is right. Maybe I am too trusting. After all, we are on a pirate ship, and my destination is who knows how far away, not to mention the unspeakable things that might happen there. It’s a long time to be on a ship... especially surrounded by dirty men when I’m wearing a dress so short it hardly covers me. I can’t help but shiver. But as long as I have Teddy with me, I should be safe enough... and even though I don’t like the Captain very much, she can’t be all bad if she’s willing to shield me from the brutes in her crew.

I wonder how many princesses Captain Felix has stolen before. Obviously enough. She certainly seemed to know what she was doing... I grit my teeth and shut my eyes, rolling over so that Teddy couldn’t see my face even if he looked my way. They’ve been right about me all along... I am too childish. I’m too much of a coward. I’m the worst princess in the history of princesses. How could I love a lifeless stuffed animal so much that I’d follow it on to a pirate ship? How can I be such a coward that I jump around from order to order, even though I’m a prisoner anyhow? If I had been sure that no one would fall in love with me before, I’m even more sure of that now.

I try not to make a sound as small tears roll down my cheek and drop on the foor beneath me. I want to go home. I’ve never hated adventure quite as much as I do now. I can’t stop the endless fow of tears as I wonder if I’ll ever get to see my home and family again. Clenching my hands into fsts, I regret this morning. I had fought with my mother, just because I resisted the important training she was giving me. If only I were more like Saria. Then I wouldn’t be in this mess. I would have fought and snarled and somehow got off this ship. I can’t believe someone like me is the daughter of the greatest hero of our time. My mother fought dragons and got beaten up multiple times for someone she didn’t even like at the time. And I’m too weak to even save myself.

“Teddy,” I whisper, my voice sounding choked with sadness. “Are you still awake?”

Teddy doesn’t respond, and when I listen harder, all I hear is his quiet breathing as he sleeps.

Crying even harder, I murmur, “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry you have a sister as terrible as me. And I’m sorry for getting you into this mess. You’re the best brother I could ever ask for...”

I cry silently for a long time, but eventually, I must fall asleep. My dreams are dark and haunted by shadowy fgures that prowl behind me, hunting me. I run as fast as I can, screaming for someone to help me, but no one comes. I’m alone in the darkness with the shadows coming gradually closer... closing in on me... my screams are cut off as they pounce on me and smother me.

Gasping awake, I see Teddy standing beside my hammock, looking down at me. His face is somber and his voice is cold as he says, “Happy eighteenth birthday Lizzie.”